RedShirt or not

oops.....ACL-UCL Faux-paux in my original notes. I have no ACL experience but some of the following thoughts still hold true IMO.

This is a time to look at the glass as half full.

Don't dwell on the "in case he gets injured again" scenario.

Is he going to be ready to contribute this year or will the pressure on getting better push him too fast as "steady" is the key to any rehab.

The statement "working out with the trainers at the college and is well ahead of the recovery time" bothers me. Trust when I say there will be other major bumps in the road, it's not over.

IMHO- Unless he's 100% ready...if he has been looked at before, he will be looked at again, but why have an assessment made before he can strut his real stuff.

I sent you a pm

There is a difference between recovered enough to make it through drills and practice and recovered enough to play every day for weeks at a time in the adreniline filled game situations that stress joints.

The senior 3B on my son's high school team had ACL replacement in mid-October. He was a D1 tight end recruit hurt playing football. He also was ahead of schedule and started at third base opening day in February. He basically had falling down range fielding at third and you could time him to first with an hour glass. He was replaced by the third game, but went on to have a nice college football career, just not at the school he verballed to before he was hurt. I wouldn't rush it or expect too much this early, based on his experience. You get 4 seasons in 5 years. Getting hurt is no fun. Good luck.

Tooldforthis,
If he redshirts this year, he will have been in college for 5 years when he has used up his 4 seasons of competition. So if he doesn't get injured again, there is no problem.

If he gets injured again, and wants to redshirt an additional year, meaning that he is in college for 6 years while getting in 4 seasons of competition, here are some possible ways to accomplish that.

1) He may be able to get a D1 waiver (D2 and D3 have similar rules) which would allow a 6th year, if he can show a genuine medical reason to qualify for a hardship waiver in both of the two injury years. He needs a statement from a doctor, preferably written now or earlier. From your post, it appears that in your son's case, he will be physically able to play this spring, which means this avenue is not available. The 6th year waiver won't be granted to a "voluntary" redshirt who gets injured in some other year.

2) For D2, he could have recourse to the following, if he is a freshman now:
"30.6.1.3 Exception— Student-Athlete Who Does Not Use Season of Competition During Initial Year of Collegiate Enrollment. For a student-athlete who does not use a season of competition during his or her initial year of full-time collegiate enrollment at any institution, a waiver may be granted if all of the following conditions are met:
(a) The student-athlete was academically and athletically eligible and was on the institution’s squad list during his or her initial year of collegiate enrollment;
(b) The student-athlete was denied one participation opportunity per Bylaw 30.6.1 following his or her initial year of collegiate enrollment; and
(c) The institution has filed the waiver prior to the beginning of student-athlete’s 11th semester or 16th
quarter of full-time enrollment." This exception seems to not be available at D3 schools.
Perhaps this would fit your son's situation.

3) If he transfers to a D2 or D3 school, the basic rule is different than D1, which uses 5 calendar years to compete in 4 seasons. For D2 (D3 is similar):

"14.2.2 Ten-semester/15-Quarter rule. A student-athlete shall complete his or her seasons of participation during the first 10 semesters or 15 quarters in which the student is enrolled in a collegiate institution in at least a minimum full-time program of studies, as determined by the regulations of that institution."

So a 6th year is possible if the player attends two semesters at less than a full-time load. You probably would need to plan ahead to have this work out, because at NCAA schools, a player needs to be full-time in order to practice or compete.

I believe that he could effectively get in 4 seasons of competition over a 6 year period by not taking a full-time load during the spring semesters in which he is not competing (redshirting).

I assume that your son is in a California JC. In that case, he only needs a full time course of study to compete, and can practice while taking less than a full time load. So, if he redshirts this spring, and takes less than 12 yours next fall, he will have saved a semester against the 10 semester rule. Note that he can't drop down to part time this spring, since D2/D3 rules charge a semester if he attends even one day of classes while registered full-time. And he might have to make up the hours to meet academic progress (e.g. the 24 hour rule). Later, in the event of an injury at a D2/D3 school, he could save an additional semester by attending part-time during the injury season, giving up practice during that season (which might be dicated by the injury anyway).


Rules aside, my approach would be to redshirt this year, get healthy, and plan on staying healthy. In my opinion, taking 6 years to complete college in order to get in a 4th season of competition is giving too much importance to baseball. Perhaps I would feel different if I were 40 years younger!

I say definately take the Redshirt. He just had major surgery in September. There is a big difference in getting released by the doctor and actually being able to play. He should rest and rehab as much as possible and try to sign on with a summer team in one of the collegiate leagues.

The more rest he gets, the better off he will be when he returns. Plus, it doesn't sound like the coach is really looking for him to be a part of the lineup this season anyway. Why waste a year of eligibilty to ride the pine? Plus, this gives him a chance to really concentrate on his grades for a semester.

My son had his labrum repaired in Fall 2007. He medical redshirted spring 2008 and went away last summer to play. It was the best thing we could have done for him as he is fully recovered and 100% healthy now.

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A few Observations (have been through 2 seperate redshirts, one medical, One at CA JC, One at DI)...


- REALLY Good advice in this thread. 08Dad is right there with you and is an excellent resource, his son is in a similar scenerio and dad is very sharp on the details and options. 3 fingers is "The Man" when it comes to the rule book.

- Big difference between being medically released and being at game speed, strength. Even in the NBA guys come back after a full year and don't find full form for a year and half to 2 years. I wouldn't be in any rush. Pitching and catching is particularly hard on ACL. While I would be researched for a second Redshirt/6th year...I would not make allowances for it unless I was forced to.

- Another year of hard work equates to bigger, stronger faster...Valuable charcateristics required to excel at this level AND be offered big at the next level. You also want him at full strength for recruiters to see...EVERY tme he steps on the field. One quick look early in the season may set a recruiters mind set that is hard to overcome later.

- Check with the coach to see what his policy is regarding Redshirts and their team participation, it varies. You want him on the field, working out with the team. You want to know the track record of the teams previous RS's.

- Based upon his D2 CA offerings...Likley your son is at a top end CA JC and there is likley a good reason why the coach is opting for another year. Team/coach may have a full compliment of pitching/catching this year and see your son as a big piece to the puzzle next year. Or may see another year of development as a real benefit. Or may see the need for additional recovery to get back to the form the coach sees as preferred. If you need to know exactly why...ask. You may find that the reason and the thought process make real sense. No mater how good your son is out of HS, coming back from injury into a quality program...Could be a role player this year and a huge championship cog next year.

- Assuming that your son stays for 3 years and does not move up early....IF he does redshirt, you need to be RIGHT on top of the redshirt rules, between NCAA rules and 4 year requirements, and UC and CAL State transfer rules, there are a great many pitfalls to a 3 year JC run that includes a Redshirt year. UC/CA State Transferrable classes, HS Clearing House qualifying status, full time semesters, AA degree status, Unit #'s, Degree %'s all come into play. Threee Fingers is a GREAT resource. If you have a academic/transfer support at the school, they can be a real help. But it also pays to know the rules yourself and check secondary sources such as 4 year recruiters - also a great "excuse" to make contact with schools you have had contact with OR want to attend. While it is VERY doable...there are also lots of horror stories out there with people not knowing the rules early and not sticking to them...and in the end getting caught behind and ending up with limited transfer options.

- I'll mention this seperately as it is so critical, and it relates to the point above, but when JC redshirting particularly in CA there is little wiggle room. You and your son need to be on the same page...academically. For us we set out an understanding early that the goal was to keep as many options open as possible, this means a real comittment to the unit and academic and GPA challenges that a 3 year JC trip entails with all options open at the end. There are hoops to jump through, best to make a comittment up front to act as a team.

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Thanks to everyone for your input. Talked to 08Dad yesterday and his son went through the same thing. He made alot of good points as all of you have done. My son and I will be talking to the coach after his final doctors appt. on tuesday. Keeping my son's fire up is going to be the hardest thing to do. thanks again.